Definition List

Sample Text

Search This Blog

Videos Bring Alcohol and other Drug Treatment to Life

Thursday, 17 July 2014

Alcohol and other drug services are taking advantage of new technologies to raise awareness about alcohol and other drug issues and where to find support and information when you need it.

Says Shonna Grant, Manager Residential Services at Cyrenian House, "The use of music, graphics and voice can convey a lot of
information in a short space of time. A
wall of text is not particularly inviting or engaging to a lot of
people."

"Excessive consumption of alcohol by young people is an alarming
social issue," says Holyoake's Business Development & Marketing Manager Mario Gomes. "Keen to communicate the
message of self-responsibility, Holyoake felt that videos were a
relevant and dynamic medium to achieve this."

What Are The Advantages?

"Information can be presented in interesting and creative ways," says Shonna. "The app we use for our videos is free, easy to use, and effectively gets the message across without a huge financial outlay."

Cyrenian House has produced a series of videos for its website that provide information about its programs, family inclusive practice and its commitment to welcoming people from diverse backgrounds, including Aboriginal people.

Strength in Diversity (Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex consumers at the Rick Hammersley Centre) involved residents at the Rick Hammersley Centre Therapeutic Community in the production.

"The Strength in Diversity video was a great way to foster consumer participation," says Shonna. "Creating the video was also therapeutic and affirming."

Mario says that Holyoake could see the benefits of sharing information through social media.

"It's an effective way to communicate with young people," he says. "Video links can be easily promoted via emails, websites and social platforms, so it's an economical way to communicate messages."

Feedback So Far...

"Very positive," says Mario. "Scores of people have viewed these videos on our website and Youtube."

Says Shonna, "We've only had them up for a couple of weeks but the response so far has been very positive."